Modesto | Permits and Fees

Modesto Permits, Review Times, Planning Fees and Capital Facilities Fees

Adding homes in Modesto takes a planning approval for some projects, a building permit for all of them, and a set of fees. A capital facilities fee is Modesto's one-time charge on new building that pays a share of new roads, parks, police and fire stations, and other public works. This page explains who decides each application under Chapter 9 of Title 10 of the Municipal Code, the notice, appeal and expiry rules, and the City's fees for FY 2026-2027, which run "July 1, 2026 Through June 30, 2027." The Modesto overview sums up the whole guide.

Who Decides Each Application

Sources: Modesto Municipal Code Table 9.1-1, Section 10-9.102, 10-4.503, 9-10.07 and 9-4.602, Supplement 72.

Modesto uses four decision bodies. The Director is the Community and Economic Development Director or a designee (Section 10-2.119). The Board of Zoning Adjustment and the Planning Commission each have seven members appointed under the Charter, and one Board member comes from the Commission. The City Council is the Mayor and six Councilmembers. Section 10-9.102 says Director decisions "do not require a public hearing and notification," except that second-story reviews are mailed to neighbors. Decisions by the Board, Commission or Council need a public hearing.

A ministerial approval, such as an ADU, is a staff check against fixed rules with no hearing. A discretionary approval, such as a conditional use permit, lets the decision body weigh the project and add conditions. Where one project needs several approvals, Section 10-9.103 lets them be "reviewed concurrently by the higher reviewing body as determined by the Director." Section 10-9.101(b) bars filing the same application again for one year after a denial, unless the body waives the wait.

Notice, Decisions, Appeals and Expiry

• Hearing notice. Mailed at least 10 calendar days before the hearing to owners within 300 feet, and published once in a newspaper or posted in three public places (Section 10-9.201).
• Director decisions. Written notice within 20 days of the decision; final and effective 15 days after the notice is mailed unless appealed (Section 10-9.203).
• Appeal of a Director decision. To the Board or Commission within 15 days; the hearing is set within 60 days of the appeal (Section 10-9.301).
• Appeal of a Board or Commission decision. To the City Council within 15 days; the Council hearing is 10 to 60 days after filing (Section 10-9.302).
• Expiry. An approval that is not used becomes "null and void" at the time set, or "after two (2) years of the approval date" if none is set. The Director may extend it on request before it expires, or within one year after, if the project has not changed (Section 10-9.108).
• Maps. Tentative maps last 24 months, with extensions by the Planning Commission (Sections 4-4.503 and 4-4.601).

The Planning Division page describes Pre App Express: "Meet directly with our plan review team from Building, Planning, Engineering, Parks, Utilities, and Fire. All in one appointment for initial feedback." It meets "every other Thursday between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m." For ADUs, the ADU page describes ADU Express, a one-hour same-day plan review. Building permits are applied for through the City's eTRAKiT online permit system.

Planning Division Fees

Source: City of Modesto, Planning Division Fees, Fiscal Year 2026-2027, due at time of application. A mitigated negative declaration takes a $5,000 deposit and an environmental impact report a $10,000 deposit.

Section 10-1.505(b) says the City Council sets these fees "by resolution adopted from time to time," and Section 4-4.106 says the same for map fees. The fee page adds four rules. When two or more applications for one project are filed together, "the application fees shall be the highest fee plus half of the fees for the remaining applications." An application withdrawn before it is complete, or within two weeks, gets a full refund; within six months and before a hearing is set, half; after that, nothing. When a deposit falls below 50 percent, more must be deposited. If no fee exists for an application, the Director sets one from similar ones.

Capital Facilities, Sewer and Building Fees per Home

Sources: City of Modesto Capital Facilities Fees, Land Development Fees and Building Safety Fees, FY 2026-2027. The capital facilities and sewer fees are per dwelling unit and due at permit issuance.

The capital facilities fee comes from Title 8, Article 9, made permanent in 1987. Section 8-1.902 says new development "generates a need for new infrastructure such as parks, roads, traffic signals, police, fire, senior citizen services and city hall expansion." Section 8-1.904 makes the fee "due and payable at the time a building permit is issued," and says "The decision of the Chief Building Official as to the type of use for fee assessment purposes shall be final." The fee page lists three rate areas: the City, the Sphere of Influence, and the Downtown Economic Incentive Program. It also offers deferred payment agreements, "an elective deferral of Capital Facilities Fees, Water Connection Fees and/or Wastewater Capacity Fees."

By VanPlex arithmetic on these pages, a new house inside the city pays $18,146 plus $2,643 in sewer capacity, or $20,789, before water and the building permit. A fourplex pays 4 x $12,250 = $49,000 plus 4 x $2,151 = $8,604, or $57,604. The fee page does not say which rate applies to a duplex: Section 10-2.121(B) calls it two single-family homes, which would be 2 x $18,146 = $36,292, while the multi-family rate would give $24,500. Ask the Building Safety Division, since the Chief Building Official's decision on the type of use is final.

ADUs follow state law. Government Code 66311.5 bars impact fees on an ADU of 750 square feet or less, and Section 10-4.503(h) says an ADU is not a new residential use for water and sewer connection fees unless it is built with a new single-family home. The building permit for an ADU or small dwelling up to 1,200 square feet is $2,429.

Building Permit Fees

The Building Safety Fees page, "Effective July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027," charges most residential permits as a flat fee per building that "includes Mechanical Plumbing Electrical." Its heading for custom homes reads "Custom Residential Dwelling including Duplex," so a duplex building is charged as one dwelling permit:

• Custom dwelling or duplex up to 5,000 square feet. $3,560 per permit, due at time of application.
• ADU or small dwelling up to 1,200 square feet. $2,429 per permit.
• Tract homes. Master plan review of $2,594 per development, then $2,395 for each production home.
• Apartment or condominium building. A $5,791 deposit.
• Other items. Garage $954, demolition $301, inspection or reinspection $216 per hour, plan review $233 per hour (non-structural) or $255 per hour (structural).

Water, Engineering and Other Charges

The Land Development Fees page sets water and engineering charges, due at permit issuance unless noted:

• Water connection. $2,202 for a 5/8 inch service and $3,671 for a 1 inch service. The 5/8 inch rate is for single-story homes "on a lot of 4,000 square feet or less," or two-story homes on such lots with an engineer's report.
• Water service installation and meter. $1,108 to install a 1 inch service and $275 for a new 1 inch meter with a pedestrian lid.
• Sewer lateral. $33 per foot of lot frontage next to the sewer line, plus a subtrunk charge of $645 per gross acre.
• Maps. Final parcel map check $2,060; final subdivision map check $3,305 for the first 10 lots and $27 for each added lot; lot line adjustment $2,060.
• Street work. Curb cut and drive approach $280 per lot; sidewalk under 100 feet $280 per lot.

Three other charges can apply. Some areas are in a Community Facilities District, a district that funds its own streets and services through special taxes; the CFD fee page lists, for example, a maximum one-time facilities special tax of $49,431.28 per net acre in Fairview Village No. 2 CFD 2024-2, collected before a building permit is issued. The Other Fees page sends builders to Stanislaus County for its public facilities fees and to Modesto City Schools for multi-family and commercial projects. The General Plan maintenance recovery fee of $0.55 per $1,000 of valuation also appears on the building fee page.

Where City Documents Disagree

• Duplex fee class. The capital facilities fee page has rows for single-family and multi-family homes only, while Section 10-2.121(B) defines a duplex as "Two (2) primary single-family dwelling units" and says it "is not a multiple-family dwelling." Section 8-1.904 makes the Chief Building Official's call final.
• School fee article. Title 8, Article 2 still sets a City school site and facilities fee by resolution, with multi-family homes at "sixty (60) per cent" of the single-family fee, and Section 8-1.206 has single-family fees "collected prior to issuance of any Certificate of Occupancy, for a period of one (1) year from the date this ordinance goes into effect." The FY 2026-2027 Other Fees page instead sends multi-family and commercial builders to Modesto City Schools, and lists no City school fee amount.
• Engineering fee table. The cost estimate deposit rows list "$100,001 to $250,000" twice, at $6,750 and $20,550, and the second row follows the $250,000 to $500,000 row. Ask the Engineering Division which deposit applies to a larger project.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Modesto overview, the California impact fees page and the CEQA and permit streamlining page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)